Sen. Arlen Specter, in explaining his support for attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, effectively delivered the following message to his Senate colleagues on Tuesday: If you want to ban waterboarding, go ahead.

Specter said he spoke with Mukasey on Monday and was assured by the nominee, who’s expected to be confirmed Thursday, that he would respect Congress’ authority to ban waterboarding. And Specter said Mukasey added that the president doesn’t have the authority to ignore such a ban.

The conversation came, Specter said, after the Pennsylvania Republican heard what he said were “unsatisfactory” answers to questions about whether Mukasey thought waterboarding qualified as torture.

“I had an extended conversation with [Mukasey] and got definitive answers to two very important propositions,” Specter said in his opening statement before the Judiciary Committee Tuesday. “First, it was his legal opinion that the Congress has the constitutional authority to prohibit waterboarding, equating it with torture and making it illegal. And secondly, he said that it was his opinion that the president did not have Article II powers as commander in chief or other inherent power to disregard a congressional enactment to that effect.”

He added: “Now, this status of events bring it squarely to the purview of Congress to make a decision as to whether waterboarding amounts to torture, and therefore should be illegal. And if the Congress so decides, Judge Mukasey has said he would back that up.”

Specter’s vote ended up not being crucial. The committee gave Mukasey an 11-8 thumbs up after Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer, New York, and Dianne Feinstein, California, supported the nominee.

No stranger to delivering a critique of a nominee or bill before voting in favor, Specter aired another concern about Mukasey before signaling his support.

“I want to express one other concern, and that is concern about what Judge Mukasey may have as a view of excessive executive authority,” Specter said.

“I'm very concerned about the presidential signing statements, where we pass legislation and under the Constitution he has the authority to either veto it or sign it, and he cherry-picks. And he did it in two contexts which were very troubling,” Specter continued, before adding: “And I asked Judge Mukasey about that and I got back an answer which is totally unsatisfactory.”

But, in the end, Specter said, with "all factors considered, I think that the balance is decisively in favor of confirming Judge Mukasey."

He added: "And I look forward to congressional consideration of this issue of waterboarding. We're the people who ought to decide it. And with his assurances in writing that he will back us up, that's good enough for me."